Six-and-Twelve Score for Transarterial Chemoembolization: Is It Applicable for Hepatitis C Virus-Positive Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma?

Objectives: A new scoring system named “six-and-twelve score” was presented by Wang et al. for the prediction of the overall survival in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients mostly due to hepatitis B virus (HBV) treated with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). This scoring system is calculated by the sum of the tumor size and number. It divides the patients into three groups, G1 ≤6, G2 >6 but ≤12, and G3 >12 with a median overall survival of 49.1, 32.0, and 15.8 months, respectively. Our aim is to assess the prognostic value of this scoring system in HCC patients due to hepatitis C virus (HCV) treated with TACE in our center. Methods: A total of 79 HCV-positive patients with HCC treated with TACE were included in this study, with the same inclusion and exclusion criteria of the six-and-twelve score study. According to this scoring system, we divided our patients into three groups; G1 (24 patients), G2 (31 patients), and G3 (24 patients). We followed up our patients to assess the overall survival rate. Results: The mean overall survival rate at 3 years was 32 months for G1, 21 months for G2, and 10 months for G3. Conclusion: Our data suggest that six-and-twelve score could not be applicable for the prediction of overall survival in HCV patients with HCC treated with TACE. Further studies are recommended to validate this scoring system in the prediction of survival in HCC patients with HCV.

Publication History

Article published online:
26 April 2021